I’m sure references to Carole King are tagged onto almost every female, piano-led solo songwriter, but this is one of those times when it is more than apposite. It goes far beyond just the instrumentation at work. It is more about having the same inherent grace and, when required, grandeur as her, the same musical economy and wonderful melody too.
And those qualities are even more impressive when you note that Lethowsow is also Kelsey Michael’s debut album. It is fair to say that she has had a rich and varied career before recording her own songs, not least through her collaborations with Sean O’Hagan’s The High Llamas, featuring on five of his albums, her voice appearing on the score to Stanley Kubrick’s “Eyes Wide Shut,” and having started her career as live backing singer for The The.
Here, her songs err on the side of the folky, ethereal, and understated and are imbued with the sound of the Cornish coastline, a gathering of sonic strands that echo the waves and the water, the rocks and hinterland, the moors and raw landscape.
“Music of the Waves” embodies exactly that, a description of the changing nature of those coastlines put only to the gentlest and most minimal piano, her gorgeous voice doing all the work as it moves between the English and Cornish language. “Mounts Bay Morning” is unexpectedly jaunty, a 60s-style pop song that celebrates the joy of opening the bedroom curtains to the beauty of the perfect morning on the coast.
“Swimming” returns us to the album’s more representative understatement, spaciousness, and minimalist playing, framing her voice perfectly and “Washing Line” is a tribute to the slow life.
I use the word gorgeous a lot, but this is truly gorgeous music. And, Lethosow is not only gorgeous music but also a reminder that in a world where people tend to use a riot of musical colours to build impressive sonic oil paintings, there are still people who understand the power of those deftly sketched, partially painted watercolors. Water colors indeed!
Lethowsow album
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